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WE BRING THE HIGHEST QUALITY BEER TO YOUR HOME

30-DAY FRESHNESS

CO2 counter-pressure filling for extended freshness

2-DAY LEAD TIME

Between brewery pick up and home delivery

40°F TEMPERATURE

We pick up from the brewery cold and deliver cold

Growlers

We use growlers for very specific reasons

A growler is a jug-like container used to take draft beer home. The word comes from the late 1800s, when beer drinkers used a small metal pail to bring beer home from the tavern. These pails were called “growlers” because the lid made a rumbling sound as CO2 escaped from under it, “gggroowllerrr."

Today, you can go to almost any micro-brewery in the nation and buy a growler of beer to go. It's the best way to bring the draft beer experience home without having to purchase a whole keg.

Growlers are made of glass, steel, ceramic or plastic. The good thing about growlers is that they are reusable. You pay a (small) deposit and you can get as many refills as you want.

Our growlettes

Most growlers are 64 oz in volume, which is like 4-6 pints depending on how you pour. Regardless of the size of the growler or how it’s filled, after you open it, the beer will be good for only 24-36 hours. At Hopsy, we use 32 oz. growlettes so that you can try more beers and don’t have to drink as much in one sitting before the quality decreases. Plus, the small size means they’re cheaper and better for recycling.

Our growlettes are amber to filter out visible and UV light and prevent your beer from going skunky. Clear glass does not protect beer from light.

Our growlettes are made of glass. We chose glass because it's the most neutral and natural of packaging materials. It is impermeable to oxygen, keeping the beer fresh longer by trapping the necessary carbon dioxide inside the bottle for a long time. Plus, glass is made from three natural ingredients: sand, limestone and soda ash. It does not contain any harmful chemicals that get spread out in the earth or oceans.

Filling Process

Our partner breweries use the best technique to fill your growlettes

Growlettes can be filled manually without expensive equipment. That’s what makes them so popular among craft brewers. Any new small brewery can partner with Hopsy without having to spend crazy money on equipment.

Most of the time, growlettes are filled straight from the tap with a tube. This method, however, increases the oxygen content of the beer, leading to rapidly declining quality.

All our partner breweries use a counter pressure CO2 filler to fill growlers. This technique reduces the amount of oxygen coming into contact with the beer so the beer‘s high quality lasts longer.

Counter pressure filling

Step 1 – Oxygen purge
The growlette is filled with CO2 which is heavier than oxygen, so it pushes out the oxygen.

Step 2 – Smooth fill
The growlette is filled with beer by counter pressure – Here’s your physics lesson of the day: the CO2 gas is in the glass, it doesn’t want to come out. When beer is poured in, its force entering the bottle is countered by the force of the gas already inside. But beer is heavier so it wins, but it’s gotta fight for it. That fight is what allows the beer to flow in smoothly without creating any foam.

Step 3 – CO2 freshness barrier
The brewer leaves just a little bit of room at the top and seals the growlette; this headspace of CO2 provides a barrier between the beer and the outside air that can harm it, giving it a longer shelf-life. Counter pressure filling keeps beer fresh for up to 30 days.

Transportation

Beer is transported fresh from the brewery to your doorstep

In addition to oxygen, most beers deteriorate with time, warm temperatures and light (visible and UV). It’s like a mine field out there for beer. Transportation and handling of the beer is super important. Dark, short trips at cold temperatures ensure the best quality of your beer. Cold temperatures slow the aging process and keep flavors and aromas pure…wish that were the same to fight wrinkles.

In order to bring the draft experience to your home, we keep the beer under 40°F along the logistics chain:

1. Beer is usually kept around 36°F at the brewery
2. We pick up filled growlettes at the brewery with refrigerated equipment
3. Beer is stored for a few days in our cold warehouse, still below 40°F
4. We bring it to your door with refrigerated equipment

Craft beer is totally ok above 40°F. Many craft beers are served between 45-55°F, but 40°F is our ceiling to ensure the best quality product to you. Under these conditions we guarantee you’ll get the same quality as at the brewery!